The Basic Understanding of Chemistry
by RealDIEMONDS
Summary: He had a crush on the boy since 3rd grade when he tripped and bruised his knee really bad. Derek was at his side in a second and helped him get up, even accompanying him to the nurse's office. Stiles thanked him quietly and Derek just nodded. That was literally their only interaction ever, but it was enough for Stiles to develop some sort of undying crush on Derek.
1. The Basic Understanding of Chemistry

Stiles Stilinski couldn't wait to be done with high school. Be done with the waiting in line for food at the cafeteria, be done with rusty old lockers, be done with self-loathing teachers that expressed their anger by giving their students tons of homework. Yes, he couldn't wait to be done with all of it. But there was one thing especially he couldn't wait for to be rid of; high school bullies. Jackson Whittemore and his posse, to be exact.

Jackson Whittemore was the epitome of spoiled white rich kids. He made sure everyone knew he drove a Porsche-that his dad paid for, like everything else.

You see for some reason Jackson decided to make Stiles his victim this year. He'd throw slushies at him in the hallways, fill his locker with foam, call him names, sometimes trip him. It never got more than that. It was plain high school bullying; we've all seen it, maybe even experienced it.

But that day was different. Jackson was clearly pissed off about something, and Stiles visibly swallowed the lump in his throat when he spotted him. He knew Jackson was going to take it out on him, and he had a feeling it wasn't going to just be a cherry slushie poured down his shirt.

Stiles made a quickly bee line to the boy's bathroom and locked himself in one of the stalls, praying Jackson hadn't spotted him too. He waited a few minutes to make sure the coast was clear. He took a deep breath and opened the door slowly, peaking his head outside. He sighed in relief when Jackson was nowhere to be seen; he was actually the only one in the bathroom.

Stiles went over to the sinks and splashed some cold water on his face. He could do this. It was just another high school day; another day of trying not to get his face pounded in by Jackson Whittemore.

* * *

Stiles was rearranging his things in his locker when the sound of a fist colliding with the neighboring locker startled him. He turned around and, of course, Jackson was there, smirking. "Hey, Stilinski. How's it hanging?" he asked, and Jackson's friend behind him snickered.

Stiles simply rolled his eyes and shut his locker. He started to walk away when Jackson shouted after him, "We've got gym later, Stilinski! Prepare yourself to get your ass kicked in dodgeball!"

A shiver ran down Stiles' spine. He hated gym for so many reasons; first of all, he wasn't very athletic, so gym in general was hell, but to make it worse Jackson always made fun of him and humiliated him every chance he got. And knowing they were playing dodgeball later just made Stiles, well, want to die.

* * *

Lunch finally came. Stiles walked over to the field; he never ate his lunch in the cafeteria. He preferred to eat it under the bleachers because nobody was there to bug him. He liked the solitaire of it.

But when Stiles arrived at his usual spot he realized somebody was already there. It was Derek Hale. Stiles wouldn't confess this to anyone but he had a crush on the boy since 3rd grade when he tripped and bruised his knee really bad. Derek was at his side in a second and helped him get up, even accompanying him to the nurse's office. Stiles thanked him quietly and Derek just nodded. That was literally their only interaction ever, but it was enough for Stiles to develop some sort of undying crush on Derek. Of course, he never acted on it. Up until 8th grade he had no idea he was gay, and even then he never tried anything; Derek was as straight as they came. If Stiles tried to confess his feelings for him Derek would probably punch him in the face, most likely not accompanying him to the nurse's office this time.

So Stiles quietly enjoyed Derek's existence from afar. Very far. He couldn't just blame the 3rd grade incident solely, though. Sure, it was what ignited his feelings for the boy, but Derek's general appearance didn't help him get over it. Derek Hale was beautiful, there was no other word to describe him. He had strong and sharp facial features, his eyes were the most beautiful mix of gray and green Stiles ever saw, and his whole dark-broody aura was lustful as well. Maybe not to many, but to Stiles it sure was.

Stiles' flaming crush aside though, why was Derek sitting under the bleachers? In Stiles' spot nonetheless, thank you very much. Stiles walked over to him and crossed his arms. 2 minutes probably went by and still nothing, not even a quick glance from Derek. He was reading something. European Mythologies, Stiles noted. Well, whatever his reason was to occupy Stiles' spot, it was rude and blatantly disrespectful. "Hey," Stiles said.

Nothing.

"Hey," he repeated, this time with more strength in his voice.

Nope. Still nothing.

"Derek!"

Derek visibly exhaled and closed the book. Won't he forget what page he was on?

"What?" Derek said, looking up at Stiles.

Ah, crap. This was a bad idea. He should just let Derek have his spot. Stiles didn't feel like having 2 people be after his life at school. "Um… You're in my spot." Curse Stiles' mouth.

Derek raised an eyebrow. He looked around them and then the ground he was sitting on. "Your spot?"

"Um… Yeah."

Derek's eyes narrowed and he re-opened his book. "Go away," was all he said and continued reading.

Stiles' mouth gaped open. _Who the hell does he think he is?! I'll show him!_

Stiles grabbed his backpack and threw it to the ground, angrily sitting a few meters away from Derek. The other boy didn't even as much as flinch. Fine. Whatever. _I can still eat my lunch even if Derek fricking Hale is sitting 2 meters away from me,_ Stiles thought.

Stiles proceeded to take out his lunch from his bag and started eating in silence. Derek didn't seem to care that he wasn't alone anymore, unlike Stiles. This was his personal spot. The only place in the school where he could eat lunch in peace. Well, besides the bathroom but who would want to eat their lunch there?

So Stiles spent the next half an hour eating his lunch in quiet, next to Derek Hale. And after his anger boiled down, his anxiety kicked up. He was sitting next to his crush for crying out loud. Why did he do this? He should have gone somewhere else. Every now and then he would steal a glance of Derek. The boy never turned his gaze away from the book, just turning the page every few minutes, sometimes highlighting something with his marker.

5 minutes before the bell rang Derek closed his book and stashed it in his backpack. He grabbed his stuff, got up and walked away, ignoring Stiles completely. Not that Stiles cared. Really, he didn't.

* * *

After that Stiles began to see Derek sitting in his spot every day. The first week it was annoying, the second slightly irritating, the third Stiles didn't care anymore. It sort of became their thing, sitting under the bleachers together during lunch. Except Derek never talked to Stiles, or vice versa. And they never agreed to that officially, but Stiles liked to think they did. As much as he disliked having to share his spot, he kind of enjoyed it. Maybe because it was the boy he had a crush on since 3rd grade? Probably.

Lunch came again and Stiles angrily marched to their-uh, his spot. Derek was already there. Stiles threw his backpack on the ground and sat down next to it, looking at his chemistry test. 52%. His dad is going to kill him. Chemistry has always been his weak spot. All his other grades are good, but chemistry? A disaster. It just didn't make any sense to him. Sulfides, anions, hydrocarbons. Who made this stuff up?! It was driving him insane.

Mr. Harris was going to fail him, no doubt. It's the like the man was born to torture Stiles' life. He desperately needed to bring his grade up.

He thought about asking Derek for help. They were in the same chemistry class, and Stiles knows Derek got a 100% on the test. He was pretty sure Derek had a 100% in every class. Smart _and_ good looking.

But of course, he couldn't. Derek would think of him as an idiot and probably just roll his eyes and ignore him. Stiles didn't need any more embarrassment in his life.

He was in the middle of eating his lunch when suddenly Derek spoke up. "You failed the test, didn't you?"

Stiles almost choked on his tuna sandwich. Did Derek Hale just speak to him? Stiles Stilinski? Willingly? "What's it to you?" Stiles responded.

Derek huffed and stuck his nose closer to his book. "Never mind…"

Stiles turned away and ate his lunch in silence, desperately trying to hide his red face. Derek just spoke to him. And he knew Stiles failed the test, which meant he was paying attention to him in class, at least to some degree. Oh God, Stiles could really use a cold shower…

* * *

Stiles was started awake by his alarm clock, groaning as he hit the snooze button, rolling from his back onto his stomach, staring at the wall. He _really_ didn't want to get up, his bed was far too warm and welcoming. But seeing as he wanted at _least_ a high school diploma he slowly got up, headed straight towards the bathroom where he freshened up a little, and then back into his room to change into some jeans and a hoodie.

He inwardly groaned when he realized he had chemistry 1st period. Way to start off the day on a good note.

Stiles was busy staring outside the window which is why he didn't hear Harris call his name. "Mr. Stilinski!" the man shouted, which finally caught Stiles' attention.

Harris sighed and rolled his eyes. "Now, that I have everyone's attention… I'm assigning you all projects, which will make up around 30% of your grade."

Of course he is.

"Oh, and you have to work in pairs."

Stiles let his head fall on the table, groaning. Apparently it was louder than he thought cause everyone looked at him. He just looked out the window.

Who was he going to pair up with? Nobody ever wants to work with him.

"And I'll be assigning the pairs," Harris said, looking at Lydia and Jackson, who both rolled their eyes.

While Harris was calling the pairs, Stiles was having a very quiet nervous breakdown. What if he got paired up with Jackson? Or Lydia? They'd both probably kill him. "Stilinski…"

Oh God, here it goes.

"…Hale."

What?

"What?" said Stiles out loud, his eyes widening. He immediately looked over to Derek, who looked at him back with a raised eyebrow.

Great… Just… great.

At the end of the class Stiles worked up the courage to walk up to Derek and talk to him. He was about to say something when Derek spoke up first, "We'll talk about it later," and left.

Stiles just stood there, until he realized what Derek meant. Later, as in later during lunch. Stiles did not blush at the realization, really he didn't.

* * *

The bell for lunch had rang and Stiles was hurriedly making his way towards the bleachers to meet Derek to go over their chemistry assignment. He couldn't believe he was actually paired up with Derek Hale. That meant he would get to hang out with him, at least to some extent. And since Derek is good at chemistry, and just about everything else, he could also bring his grade up. It was a real blessing in disguise.

"Stilinski!" was all Stiles heard before he suddenly felt a wet feeling all across his body. When he opened his eyes he saw Jackson laughing at his face, and everyone around him trying to hide their own laughter. He looked down at himself and realized he was drenched in a milkshake. "I got chocolate, really matches your eyes, huh, Stilinski?" Jackson laughed and walked away.

Stiles felt mortified. He quickly went into one of the boys' bathrooms and inspected the damage. It didn't take a genius to realize that the clothes were ruined. Still, Stiles wet some paper towels and tried to get the milkshake off of himself, but to no avail. "Damn it," he said but it was more of a whisper.

After 10 minutes of furious scrubbing Stiles gave up. It was no use. He was just wasting lunch time.

When Stiles sat down on the grass, the first thing Derek did was look at him and raise an eyebrow. "Don't…," Stiles muttered, cutting off whatever Derek was trying to say.

"I was just going to offer you my hoodie," Derek replied in a monotone voice.

Stiles's head snapped to him, eyes big. "W-What?"

"My hoodie," Derek stated, pointing to it on himself. He grabbed the hem of it and pulled it off, the shirt under it sliding up high across his stomach, revealing defined abs to Stiles, who, **and he swears** , did not feel his face heat up. "Here," the boy said, holding out his hoodie to Stiles.

"I…," he started, eyeing the piece of clothing suspiciously, "you can't be serious."

"Do I look like I'm not serious?" Derek asked.

"That's not fair, you always look serious," Stiles said without even thinking. "Um… Not that I look at you or anything."

"Just take it, you look like a mess."

Point taken. "I can't take your hoodie. You… You're gonna get cold."

"No, I won't. I know what I'm doing, so just take it already before I change my mind," Derek scowled.

Stiles swallowed the lump in his throat and took the hoodie from Derek, their fingers slightly brushing while doing so. Stiles could've sworn he felt a spark when he touched Derek's hand.

"Th-thanks…"

"No problem," Derek replied and opened his backpack. "Here, I made a plan for our assignment."

"A plan?" Stiles asked once he removed his own hoodie, and put on Derek's. He was trying really hard not to get intoxicated by the scent of it; Derek's scent. It smelled like sandalwood, cinnamon and slightly smoky.

"Yeah, like what each of us is supposed to do."

"Oh, okay."

They proceeded to eat their lunches. Well, Stiles at least. Derek just kept reading his book. Does he ever eat?

Stiles went over the plan, trying not to get his turkey sandwich all over it. I don't understand any of this…

"What's the matter?" Derek's voice snapped him out of his thinking.

The brunette boy put down his sandwich and sighed. "I mean… It's a good plan…"

"But?" Derek asked.

"Buuut... I'm really bad at chemistry, as you know, so I honestly have no idea what most of this stuff means," Stiles responded. He figured there was no point in pretending he knew anything about their material. Maybe Derek could help him out.

The other boy just sighed. "You know where I live, right?"

"Yes!" Stiles responded, perhaps a bit too quick. "I mean, uh, yeah I'm, um, familiar with the area I guess."

Derek looked at him weird before continuing, "If you need help with chemistry come to my place after 5. I know that even _you_ can grasp the basics of high school level chemistry."

Stiles felt like he should have been offended a bit, but he really wasn't. His brain sort of stopped working after the 'come to my place' part.

"Uhhh… Are you sure?" he eventually managed to say.

"About what?"

"The coming to your place part, genius," Stiles responded, rolling his eyes.

Derek squinted his eyes, packed up his stuff and stood up. "Just be there at 5," was all he said before he walked away.

 _What the hell just happened?_ Stiles thought.

After his brain managed to process the evens that just occurred, he started freaking out. **He was going to Derek Hale's place later that day. The guy he had a crush on since 3rd grade.**

"Oh my God…" the boy groaned.

* * *

When Stiles got home the house was quiet. Not surprising, seeing as his dad had an afternoon shift. He wouldn't be home until 10 or so. Stiles was used to it by now. After his mom died Stiles' dad took the time off to be with this only son. Stiles was all he had left. Everyone at the station understood. It was nice, but the man had to get back to work eventually. So that meant that Stiles was usually alone for most of the day.

He checked the fridge and sighed because it held nothing that would substitute lunch. So, he made some cereal and started doing his homework. It was almost 4, and he had to be at Derek's in an hour. Probably not the best subject to think about when he's trying to concentrate on homework.

* * *

 **AN** : Hello, I just wanted to say a few things. This is the first piece of work I've published in around 3, almost 4, years. I've grown a lot since my last work, learned new things that I feel I can apply to my future creations. I've actually had 3/4 of this chapter sitting on my computer since 2015, never quite being able to take it in a direction I liked. But recently I found some inspiration again, and I think I'm ready to finally really dwell into this story. The chapter titles and some minor details might change through the course of this, as like I said I only just got back into this story and I just know I'm going to find new things to add later on. Also Rating, Warnings and Characters will get added through the course of the story.

I hope you guys enjoy it, and I apologize for any errors but I'm only one man :)

Your comments and thoughts would be greatly appreciated!


	2. Different in Nurture, Same in Nature

Trying to do his homework while waiting to go to Derek's was probably the worst idea Stiles has had in a while. It was simply not working out. He couldn't stop fantasizing about the boy. He couldn't stop thinking about the way Derek carries himself, the way his hair never seems to move, his eyes... Oh god, those eyes. According to Stiles' brain, Derek's eyes were 'a magical mixture of green and grey, that sparkled like a thousand suns'. His words.

40 minutes of daydreaming later, Stiles looked at the clock and started to full on panic. He still couldn't believe this was actually happening. He ran upstairs to his room and started looking at all his clothes. Stiles wanted to look nice, but not too nice; make it look like he cares, but not that much. It was then that it hit him; he was still wearing Derek's hoodie. In his daydreaming-yet-panicked state, he completely forgot about the article of clothing.

He let the sleeve run softly against his cheek, taking in the scent. Derek's pheromones began to overwhelm Stiles' nose. He tried to memorize the hoodie's aroma, even though it wasn't strong as when he got it. Sandalwood, cinnamon, and a little bit of smoke.

 _Okay... I've hit an all-time low now,_ he thought.

Knowing it'd be weird to show up in Derek's hoodie, Stiles started going through his drawer. He finally pulled out a decent looking red shirt, smelled it to make sure it didn't reek, and put it on, making his way downstairs.

He was about to go sit in his Jeep when he remembered he should probably grab his chemistry material, so he ran back upstairs.

* * *

The drive to Derek's was one filled with anxiety, dread and well, more anxiety. Stiles kept trying to calm himself down, which sort-of worked right up until he arrived at his destination.

Now the Hale residence wasn't exactly a mansion, but it was quite a large estate. Large trees surrounded the house and the area, spanning acres upon acres. There was a beautiful veranda in the front of the house, the walls a beautiful creamy beige color. Different shades of gray masonry surrounded the lower part of the house. A short flight of stairs was in the front center, leading up to a sizable pair of wooden and glass doors.

Stiles was busy taking in the scenery when the front door opened, demanding his attention. A girl with long brown hair stepped out. She looked just a few years older than Stiles. She was wearing a light-yellow blouse and black jeans, her hair falling over her shoulder in beautiful waves and curls.

She started walking over to Stiles' jeep, her hands crossed. "This is private property, kid," she said in a commanding voice.

"Oh, um, I know," sheepishly responded Stiles.

"Step out of the car."

The boy blinked twice before responding. "What?"

"You heard me," she replied, "get out of the car."

Stiles had no idea what was going on, but she looked like the type that wouldn't take no for an answer, so he did as he was told.

The girl eyed him up, taking in his presence. It made Stiles rather uncomfortable, not sure what to say or how to react.

The brunette was about to say something when the front door opened again and Stiles was met with a familiar face; Derek.

He came marching outside, looking like he was about to explode. "Laura! Get away from him! Now!"

The girl apparently named Laura, cackled and extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, Stiles, I'm Laura, Derek's big sister."

"No," Derek interrupted as he walked in between them. "You do not say another word to him. Mom said go help her with dinner."

Laura winked at Stiles and started walking back into the house. "See you later, Stiles!"

The door closed and Stiles noticed Derek relaxing a bit. He felt like this was the time to speak up. "So, uh, you have a sister."

Green eyes met his own. "Two, actually," Derek responded. He looked like he wanted to say more, but chose to keep it simple. "Come on, let's get started on the project."

Stiles followed the other boy through the front door. His nose was filled with a lovely scent; he couldn't quite describe it, but it felt very warm and inviting. The sound of laughter could be heard in a room down the hall, the sound of a television from another. Yes, Stiles would describe the atmosphere as homey... a feeling he hasn't experienced in quite some time.

"My room's upstairs," said Derek, already halfway up the stairs when a voice unfamiliar to Stiles came from the other room.

Stiles turned around and was greeted by the sight of the lovely looking woman. She had long auburn colored hair, her eyes the same color as Derek's. She was wearing a simple wine red blouse and black jeans. Guess that's where Laura gets her style, he thought.

"Derek, how rude of you! Are you not going to introduce your guest?" the woman teased.

Derek groaned and walked back down the stairs. "Stiles, this is my mom. Mom, this is Stiles Stilinski. The end."

The woman let out a small laugh. She extended her hand for Stiles to take, "My name is Talia Hale. It's nice to meet you, Stiles."

"It's nice to meet you too, ma'am," Stiles responded with a smile, shaking Talia's hand.

"Oh, please," she chuckled. "Call me Talia, please."

The boy simply nodded.

Derek rolled his eyes and grabbed Stiles by the shoulder, which totally didn't raise Stiles' heartbeat. "We have work to do," he chided, practically dragging Stiles up the stairs.  
Talia just watched the scene unfold with a warm smile, her heart warm knowing that Derek is finally reaching out to new people.

As he was walking up the stairs, Stiles noticed how it was filled with various memorabilia; photographs in varying sizes of the past. He didn't have time to look at them in detail, but he was pretty sure he saw a young Derek (around 7 or so) on a bike smiling. That was definitely worth remembering.

* * *

Stiles wasn't completely sure what to expect from Derek's room. He imagined the walls were either black or gray, maybe a picture or two on the wall, everything in its correct spot.

What he wasn't expecting though was a room with blue walls, posters of different sci-fi movies hanging on the walls, even some stuffed animals on the dresser. It had the boy gaping a bit.

"What's wrong with you?" Derek asked in a nonchalant manner. He went and sat down on his bed, which was in the right corner of the room, a poster of Spiderman hanging above it.

"I'm… Just shocked," answered Stiles honestly.

The other teen raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well," the brunette started, "for starters, you have a Spiderman poster hanging above your bed. And a plush wolf on your dresser."

Stiles didn't miss the glare Derek was sending him. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that! I love Spiderman! And wolves are super cool!" he stammered.

The dark-haired boy simply sighed and pulled out some books from the backpack next to his bed. He spread them in front of himself on the bed. He then looked at Stiles, as if he should have already figured out what to do.

Stiles gulped and set down his own backpack. "Where do you want me to sit?" he asked, trying not sound too nervous.

"Bed," Derek responded, already looking for something in one of the books.

He obviously meant the spot next to him, but Stiles suddenly couldn't think straight. Derek Hale just offered him, Stiles Stilinski, to sit next to him on his bed. Sure, it was for school, but the brunette wasn't really thinking of anything else other than the fact that Derek sleeps in that bed.

So he obliged and sat down next to Derek. He opened his notebook, looking over the minimalistic notes he took in class. It really wasn't his fault. Stiles' brain just somehow completely stopped working when listening to chemistry. That never happened to him before. Sure, he didn't have the best grades in other classes but he was doing completely fine.

And it's not like he was ever going to need chemistry. He hadn't told anybody yet, but Stiles wanted to be a photographer. It's what he was most passionate about. What makes an object beautiful? How can that same object be shown in a different light? How has the camera evolved throughout the last century, and what impact have these changes had in the world of art? Stiles wanted to have answers to all those questions and more. As a photography major, he could contribute to the art world and create pieces that he thought were beautiful.

Stiles was snapped out of his daydreaming when Derek flicked his head. "Ow! What gives?!" the teen protested, covering the spot with his hand.

"Can you focus? We have a lot of work to do," the black-haired boy insisted.

Stiles was sort-of glad that Derek was like this. He really needed someone that knew what had to be done. Thus, he decided to give it a try. "Fine, but you're gonna have to explain this stuff to me. I have no idea what Harris talks about in his classes, and when I try to ask him he just ignores me," he explained. He was chewing on his lip before continuing to speak, "I'm sorry. You probably never have this problem, and I don't wanna tank our grade, which is also your grade, and I know you have good grades, not that I keep track of or anything. I just… Um… Want to do good."

That earned him a weird look from the other boy. Honestly, Derek did sympathize with Stiles a bit. He never really had that problem; he had top grades in all his classes, all the teachers loved him, he understood all the material.

Stiles silently cursed himself. "Sorry, I babble a lot."

Derek knew that Stiles wasn't stupid. He knew the boy had good grades in other subjects. Not that he kept track of them. "Alright," Derek said slowly, turning his chemistry book to the beginning page. "We'll start from the beginning then."

Stiles couldn't read Derek's face. He pretty much always had the same expression, so he had no idea whether Derek was okay with this or not. He figured it wasn't worth the time to think about it too much, seeing as they had a lot of work to do.

Derek was looking at his book for a bit, trying to come up with some questions to test Stiles' knowledge. He hummed in contempt when he finally found something. "Chemical reactions."

"What about them?" Stiles retorted.

That earned him a glare from the other boy. "I'm getting to it. Can you explain to me what a chemical reaction is by definition?"

Stiles squinted his eyes and looked at the floor; apparently, that was him thinking. "It's a process in which the identity of at least one substance changes, right?"

"Is that a question or a statement?" Derek asked with a smirk.

"You're worse than Harris, you're aware of that, right?" Stiles responded.

Derek simply gestured that he was still waiting for an answer.

"Um," the brunette started, "it's a… statement."

Derek raised his eyebrows, pleased with the answer. "Alright, not bad, Stilinski."

That caused Stiles to beam up a bit. Maybe he _could_ do this!

"Okay, next one. What's the difference between reactants and products?" Derek asked.

Stiles raised his eyebrow and thought for a second. Use your logic, his inner-self said. "Well, reactants are the substances that are changed in a chemical reaction, while products are the substances that are produced."

Derek nodded and started coming up with more questions. He thought he should keep it simple at first, have Stiles grasp the basic of chemistry, then they could devote their time to their project.

* * *

The Hale boy gave Stiles some chemical equations to solve, very basic ones of course. In the meantime, he would catch up on his own work, but every now and then he would find himself looking over at Stiles', sort-of mesmerized by the boy's facial features.

 _Wait, what?_

"Hope you two are decent," a voice said outside Derek's room before the door was swung open by Laura who had a mischievous smirk on her face, earning a glare from her younger brother.

"What do you want, Laura?" Derek spat through his teeth, obviously annoyed by his sister's presence. Stiles had no idea why Derek was so tense around her, but seeing as he was an only child he figured he would never understand.

"Oh, just checking up on my baby brother," she nonchalantly responded, leaning against the door frame and checking her nails. "Making sure he's behaving. Not doing anything he shou-"

"Laura!" Derek practically barked.

His sister snorted and started closing the door. "Mom said to tell you dinner will be really in 5. Bye, Stiles!"

Stiles looked over at Derek, who looked like he was about to murder someone. He was silently praying it wouldn't be him.

"Uhh, guess I should go now," Stiles started, picking up his books. "Thanks for the help, by the way," he sheepishly said, "I, uh, think it really helped."

Derek smiled softly at that. He was glad Stiles was starting to get the material. Not surprising, though, he did have a great teacher.

"Yeah, whatever," is what he responded with, though, earning an eye roll from Stiles.

Derek accompanied Stiles to the front door. The Hale boy was about to say something when his mother appeared from the other room. "Stiles, oh good, I've caught you! I wanted to ask you to join us for dinner!" Talia said warmheartedly.

Stiles froze up. Join the Hale family for dinner? Derek's family? Hell no! "Oh, um, that's okay. I really need to get going, but thank you, Misses Hale."  
"Nonsense!" Talia dismissed. "You have to stay! I made more than enough."

He gave it another thought, weighing his options in his head; go home and order pizza while waiting for his dad, or stay for a nice home cooked meal with the Hale's.  
"Alright… I guess I can stay for a bit," he answered, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks.

He followed Talia and Derek to the dining room. Upon entering the room his nostrils were filled with a mix of delicious aromas, his stomach growling in response, earning him a chuckle from Talia.

The table was set beautifully, no doubt Talia's work. It was a very modern setting, but with a touch of something that made it feel very homey.  
Stiles noticed the 5 plates on the table; so that meant him, Derek, Talia, Laura… and Derek's dad, right?

His question was answered when a girl around his age walked into the room, her hair a light brown color in a high ponytail. She was wearing a black t-shirt with a logo from one of those bands Stiles heard on the radio. She stopped in tracks when she saw him and raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?" the girl asked.

"Uh, I'm Stiles," he answered, stretching his arm out.

"What kind of name is Stiles?" she replied, looking genuinely confused. She wasn't the first one. "I'm Cora, by the way."

"Our dear baby sister," Laura chimed as she entered the room with two trays of food. "Go sit, we're almost done."

The teens did as they were told, Derek and Cora each sitting on one side of the table. Stiles sat down next to Derek, trying not to make it too obvious that he was almost having a panic attack.

If someone told him a month ago that he'd be having dinner with Derek Hale and his family, Stiles would have laughed until he died, yet there he was. Looking over at the other boy Stiles noticed that apparently the plate had grown a mouth and was telling Derek something because he seemed that interested in it.

"Dig in," Talia said and everyone started taking pieces of the food.

Stiles wasn't really sure what he was looking at, pretty much all of the presented food was a mystery to him. He was used to take-out and simple dishes; basically, what he was capable of making.

"Stiles, you should try some of the baked potatoes," Laura suggested before taking a bite. "They're really good."

"Uh, sure," he responded with a lopsided smile.

A few minutes or so passed with no special conversation topics; the Hales mostly talked about school stuff, Talia talking about her work. Stiles found out that she was a lawyer.  
"So, Stiles," the woman started, "how's your chemistry project going?"

Stiles quickly swallowed the food in his mouth before answering. "Oh, yeah… Um… It's going good, I guess. I'm not that good at chemistry but Derek's been teaching me a bit and I think I'm starting to get it."

Talia smiled. "That's nice. I'm glad Derek is able to help you."

The mentioned boy didn't say a word, just stared at his plate.

"Yeah," Stiles continued, "I'm still learning new things." He hadn't meant just about chemistry. He was surprised how normal and friendly Derek's family was. Thinking about it he wasn't exactly sure what he expected; surely they wouldn't all be dark and broody too, right?

The rest of the dinner was filled with trivial small talk. Stiles didn't get many words in but he didn't mind. He was really enjoying himself. He couldn't remember the last time he had a proper family dinner; something he realized he missed more than he thought.

His mother died when Stiles was very young. He remembers holding her hand while she was dying; the smell of the hospital, it smelled like ethanol. He couldn't get rid of the smell for a week, it was like it was lodged in his nostrils reminding him of his last moments with his mother. He hates that smell.

"Stiles?"  
He snapped back to reality, realizing Talia was talking to him. She seemed slightly worried. "Is everything alright, dear?" she inquired.

"Uh, yeah," he answered. "I'm fine." Cue the fake smile. "It was really lovely and thank you so much for having me over, but I really should be going. My dad likes to check up on me every now and then and if he doesn't find me he's gonna call the CIA," Stiles continued, only half joking.

"Well, if you say so," Talia responded, standing up. "Give me a minute, though, I'll give u some of the leftovers, we're never going to eat all of it."

Stiles pondered the idea but nodded in agreement. Who was he to say no to free food?

He waited by the front door, his backpack thrown over his shoulder, clutching it with one of his hands. Derek was standing a few feet away from him, hands in his pockets, looking at the ground. The Hale boy hasn't said a single thing to him the entire dinner. Even when he talked it was only a response to a question from his mother or one of his sisters. Stiles wasn't sure if it was because he was there. Derek invited him to work on their chemistry project, not bond over baked potatoes with his family.

"Here you go," Talia chimed as she entered the hall, holding 3 plastic containers. "I added a little extra chicken for your father, I hope he isn't a vegetarian," she laughed.  
"No," Stiles chortled. "That's the last thing he is." He was always trying to get his father to eat more vegetables, with not much success. "Thank you. For everything."

Talia smiled warmly. "My pleasure. Any friend of Derek's is _always_ welcome at our house."

Stiles subtly nodded. "Well, I, uh, have to go now. Thanks, again. Good night," he politely said, looking at both the Hales.

"Drive safely," was all Derek said before he ran up to his room.

He wouldn't admit it but Stiles _did_ blush.


	3. Different in Nurture, Same in Nature II

When Stiles drove up the driveway of house he wasn't surprised when he saw that the lights weren't on. His dad usually came back at around 10, and it was still a bit from then. So he made his way inside, placing the containers of food in the refrigerator. He thought about leaving them on the counter but he didn't want the food to spoil in case his dad had to pull an all-nighter.

He stalked the cabinets for a snack, stuck between a strawberry or chocolate granola bar. He eventually decided on the strawberry and made his way up to his room.

Laying there on his bed, eating his granola bar, he thought about the events that unfolded today. He still wasn't 100% sure that it was all real. He was waiting to wake up any second, still being the lonely dork that ate lunch under the bleachers without Derek Hale. Not getting tutored in chemistry by him or eating dinner with the boy's family.

Stiles then remembered Derek's last words. "Drive safely."

 _So stupid_ , he thought. _Why did Derek say that? What does he care about me driving safely?_

He continued eating his granola bar, his brain working in overdrive. Thankfully a familiar sounding engine outside got his attention. His dad.

The brunette wanted to get up, go downstairs and tell his dad that he just had dinner with the family of the boy he'd been crushing on since 3rd grade.

Except that he couldn't. You see, his dad had no idea that Stiles was gay and Stiles wasn't really sure if he was ready to let him know. He had no idea what his dad's thoughts on the LGBTQ+ community were; it had never been a conversation piece. What if it went bad? He couldn't lose another parent, he was his last person and Stiles'd be dammed if he let anything come in between them. So he didn't talk about his sexuality.

Not long after he heard footsteps approach his room. The door opened slowly, his dad appearing behind it. "Hey, not sleeping yet?" Noah, his dad, inquired.

"Nah," Stiles replied, exhaling loudly through his nose, resting his head on his hands. "How was work?"

"Eh, you know," his father voiced. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

Stiles simply hummed.

"How was your day?"

Stiles pondered for a few seconds on how to answer that. He figured he should just be honest. "It was okay. I was at the Hale's house. I have a project for school with Derek Hale, then his mom invited me to dinner so I stayed. They were really nice."

Noah stared at his son for a bit. "You were at the Hale's house? For dinner?" He sounded suspiciously doubtful.

"Yes, dad," Stiles answered. Why was that hard to believe? "His mom even gave me some leftovers for you. I put them in the fridge, so help yourself."

The older man still looked completely confused. "Uh... Okay... Well, you should go to sleep. Night," was all he said before leaving.

Stiles sighed and kept staring at the ceiling. It was quite an interesting ceiling, he had to admit.

* * *

 _ **5 hours earlier**_

Derek had honest to God no idea what he was thinking when he invited Stiles over to his house. He never invited anyone to his house. Not that he had anyone to invite. He was pretty much a loner. Not that he had anything against that, no he enjoyed spending time alone. Nobody could bother him, tell him what to do; it was just himself and he liked it that way.

Which is why he didn't know what otherworldly demon had possessed him to invite Stiles. At least he could monitor him while they work on the project. Derek had amazing grades in all his classes, and he wasn't going to let Stiles Stilinski ruin them.

He needed those amazing grades, if he wanted to become a lawyer, like his mother. He had thought an awful lot about what he wanted to be when he grew up. A doctor? No, too much blood. An actor? Not enough self-esteem. Maybe a musician? Well, if he had any musical talent, which he didn't. There were so many options, but becoming a lawyer just felt right to him. He knew what it looked like, not just cause of television shows, but cause his mother was one and she was a damn good one, too. She was well respected in her field of work, quite known amongst her coworkers. Derek was always with her in the courtroom, ever since he was 6. He found the work so fascinating and amazing; he found his _mother_ fascinating and amazing.

You see, his mother had raised Derek and Cora by herself. Their father had left when Derek was 5, Cora 3, and Laura 9. That had left a foul image of the man in Derek's mind. Who walks out on their wife and 3 children? So Talia had to step up and become both parents, all while being an excellent lawyer.

So yes, Derek wanted to become a lawyer; a criminal defense attorney, like his mother.

A knock was heard on his door, followed by Laura entering his room. She looked like she wanted to say something snarky, but didn't once she saw him staring at the ceiling. "What's the matter with you?"

Derek sighed. He loved Laura, but he had zero interest in talking to her about... Stiles.

But, Laura being herself, she persisted. "Earth to Derek, anyone home?" she asked as she sat down on his bed. "Come on, stop being such a sourwolf."

Derek glared at her. "Don't call me that," he said.

Laura snorted. "It's cute, and you know it." She threw herself on the empty spot next to her brother, even if it wasn't the biggest bed. "Tell me." Her voice was gentler.

Her brother groaned and turned to face the wall. He gave it a few seconds, thinking of the right words. "I invited someone over. For school stuff."

That instantly got her attention. "Really? You? _You_ invited someone over to our house?" She was finding this all very hard to believe.

Derek bit down on his lip, chewing on it for a bit. "It's Stiles..."

Laura sat up, her eyes wide. "Stiles? As in Stiles Stilinski?!"

"How many people named Stiles' do you know of?" asked Derek, rolling his eyes.

"I'm just... Surprised... Shocked... Confused-"

"Okay, stop talking."

Laura scoffed, looking at her brother for a while, not saying anything. She finally spoke up, "I just can't believe you invited over the boy you've been crushing on since 3rd grade."

She couldn't see it, but Derek was blushing madly. What Laura said was true, Derek had been crushing on Stiles since the 3rd grade, ever since he saw him trip and bruise his knee, he felt a protective instinct surge through his body. Obviously he hadn't realized that in the moment, how could he, he was so young. But the older he got the more time he spent thinking about his feelings for the boy. He couldn't explain them for the life of him.

But feeling something and acting upon it are two very different things. Just cause he felt things for Stiles didn't mean he could act on them. Derek was pretty sure that Stiles was straight, and even if he weren't, why would he want to be with someone like Derek? Sure, he had great academics, but what else? He knew he wasn't very social. He knew how he came across; grumpy and broody. But he couldn't help it, it was who he was as a person. He didn't like his appearance; his bunny teeth for once, or his bushy eyebrows. He also wasn't a huge fan of his ears. There were so many things that Derek disliked about himself, even though his mom always told him that he was perfect. Of course she did, she was his mother, it was her job to make Derek feel loved and wanted, and he knew that. So he never expressed his feelings to Stiles.

But then they get paired up for a school project. Apparently God watched too many Lifetime teen movies, cause it was the biggest cliché in the history of mankind, according to Derek's words. And that stupid project meant he had to spend time with Stiles, actually spend time with him and talk to him and discuss ideas... It made him extremely nervous, but at the same time it gave him a warm and fuzzy feeling in his stomach. Derek would have loved to get to know more about Stiles; which tv shows were his favorite, did he sleep with his window open or closed, what were his plans for college, what his favorite drink is... All those things and more. Derek wanted to know them all. He sometimes thought that it was sort of creepy, but he couldn't help himself.

"Neither can I," Derek finally said. He looked at his sister, as if she could give him all the answers he needed to deal with the situation.

Laura simply smiled at him. She was the only one in their family that knew of Derek's crush. He told her a few years ago, which was also his way of coming out. He told her he liked boys and not girls. She asked him if there was a specific boy he liked. He said 'Stiles'. Laura questioned her brother's taste in guys, because who falls for someone named _Stiles_?

Derek hadn't told their mom or Cora about Stiles, just that he liked boys. Cora was 10, so she didn't really fully understand what he meant. Talia accepted it very well. She hugged her son for what felt like a century, telling him that she loved him no matter what and that she was glad he told her.

Of course, when Stiles arrived, Laura apparently made it her mission to embarrass Derek. He was busy picking a shirt when he heard a car approach the house, and his older sister sprinted past his door. He followed as soon as he could, but he was too late. Laura was outside talking to Stiles, and God knows what she said to him.

"Laura! Get away from him! Now!" Derek barked.

Laura just cackled and extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, Stiles, I'm Laura, Derek's big sister."

"No," Derek said as he walked in between them. "You do not say another word to him. Mom said go help her with dinner."

Laura winked at Stiles and started walking back into the house. "See you later, Stiles!"

The door closed and Derek felt relieved. He just hoped Laura hadn't said anything idiotic to Stiles.

"So, uh, you have a sister," Stiles commented.

The Hale boy looked at Stiles, "Two, actually," he responded. Derek wanted to ask what Laura said to him, but a voice told him to let it go, so he did. "Come on, let's get started on the project."

He guided Stiles inside. "My room's upstairs," Derek said, already halfway up the stairs when his mom's voice came from the other room.

"Derek, how rude of you! Are you not going to introduce your guest?" Talia teased as she appeared from the kitchen.

Derek groaned and walked back down the stairs. His mom would probably embarrass him even more, and he was not up for that. He figured he should keep it short. "Stiles, this is my mom. Mom, this is Stiles Stilinski. The end."

Talia let out a small laugh. She extended her hand for Stiles to take, "My name is Talia Hale. It's nice to meet you, Stiles."

"It's nice to meet you too, ma'am," Stiles responded with a smile, shaking Talia's hand. Derek took extra notice of the smile, trying to embed it in his memory; it was such a nice sight to see.

"Oh, please," she chuckled. "Call me Talia, please."

Stiles simply nodded.

Derek had no idea why but he grabbed Stiles by the shoulder and started dragging him up the stairs. "We have work to do."

* * *

Stiles looked like he stepped into a different dimension when they entered Derek's room.

"What's wrong with you?" Derek asked in a nonchalant manner. He went and sat down on his bed, which was in the right corner of the room.

"I'm… Just shocked," Stiles answered.

The other teen raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well," the brunette started, "for starters, you have a Spiderman poster hanging above your bed. And a plush wolf on your dresser."

Derek could feel his cheeks heat up. So he did what he always did when he was uncomfortable; he glared. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that! I love Spiderman! And wolves are super cool!" Stiles stammered.

The dark-haired boy simply sighed and pulled out some books from the backpack next to his bed. He spread them in front of himself on the bed, hoping to get distracted by the work. He then looked at Stiles, as if he should have already figured out what to do.

Stiles gulped and set down his own backpack. "Where do you want me to sit?" he asked, trying not sound too nervous.

Derek's desk was one the other side of the room, so that was a no, and he wasn't going to let Stiles sit on the floor. So that left one option."Bed," Derek responded, already looking for something in one of the books, praying Stiles wouldn't notice his faint blush.

This is hell, Derek thought. He had the boy of his dreams next to him on his bed, but he couldn't do anything. They had to get through this project, if nothing else, and if he tells Stiles about his feelings and the boy rejects him, he might even stop talking to Derek. He was not going to risk his grade over some stupid crush, even if it was hard.

It was a known fact that life hated Derek, cause his mother invited Stiles to stay for dinner.

He didn't really speak a lot during the course of the dinner, only giving short answers to his mom's questions. But he did listen to everything. He heard when Stiles told them how Derek was good at explaining chemistry to him. That made him feel good. He was glad he could help Stiles.

He also didn't miss Stiles' change of disposition. He had no idea what caused it but the boy looked a bit sad. Derek really wanted to know why, but he didn't feel like it was his place to ask.

So he walked to the front door with him, right behind him. They were waiting for Talia to bring some leftovers, giving them a minute for themselves. Derek really wanted to ask what was wrong, but had the chance stolen when his mom came back.

"Here you go," Talia chimed as she entered from the kitchen, holding 3 plastic containers. "I added a little extra chicken for your father, I hope he isn't a vegetarian," she laughed.

"No," Stiles chortled. "That's the last thing he is. Thank you. For everything."

Talia smiled warmly. "My pleasure. Any friend of Derek's is _always_ welcome at our house."

Stiles subtly nodded. "Well, I, uh, have to go now. Thanks, again. Good night," he politely said, looking at both the Hales.

"Drive safely," was all Derek said before he ran up to his room.

* * *

 _ **Present**_

Derek was trying to do his English homework, not really getting anymore. His foot kept fidgeting, his mind not resting up. He had no idea why he told Stiles to drive safely. What kind of a moron says that? He could have just said 'good night', or anything else. He couldn't thing logically when it came to the Stilinski boy, and it low-key freaked him out. What if he says something dumber the next time? It was like all his conscious thinking flew out the window when he was next to him.

Deciding to forgo his homework, Derek hopped on the internet in need of answers. 8 tabs later the only answer they all had in common was 'love'. The Hale boy scoffed. He was _not_ in love with Stiles Stilinski. He barely knew him. It was impossible. Sure, he liked the boy, but not loved. So he continued his research, trying to find out what to do when in those situations. He didn't achieve much success, most websites giving him half-assed answers.

He decided to call it quits; it was getting late, and he had things to do tomorrow.

* * *

This is basically chapter 2 but from Derek's POV, cause I wanted to include his thoughts as well.


	4. Exothermic Reactions

Gym class. The worst school subject in existence. It was almost an hour of pure pain and suffering, a literal Hell on Earth. At least according to Stiles, and perhaps not exactly cause of the class itself, but more cause of the people that excelled in it; aka the jocks. Jackson and his friends, to be more precise.

Stiles wished he knew why they picked on him constantly, but he figured there was no real reasoning when it came to bullies. He was smaller and weaker than them, so it made him an easy target who wouldn't fight back. He thought about doing it, but decided against it eventually; he could take the names, occasional shoves and slushies. And he would be graduating next year anyway, then he'd never have to see their faces again.

But right now he had to face them in gym. They were playing dodgeball. Stiles for a moment forgot about his surroundings, cause Derek was there on the bench. He looked incredibly bored, or was just being himself; Stiles wasn't sure, he was still working on his interpretations of Derek's faces. He was wearing those black and red shorts, how Stiles loved those shorts. He really loved those two colors on Derek, they just complimented his skin tone so well. He-

 **bam**

 ** _Derek's POV_**

Derek could really care less about gym class. It wasn't that he was bad in it, he just preferred spending his time reading a book or something. And he had to watch all the dumb jocks yell and scream at each other over a glorified version of fetch.

The only remotely interesting thing was seeing Stiles in gym shorts. White and blue. Derek tried thinking of him as sexy but really couldn't when the boy kept flailing his arms trying to catch a ball. It was really amusing to watch.

He hated himself for not reacting faster, but he was too distracted by Stiles to see the ball traveling to the boy's face.

It caused a loud smack that echoed through the gym, causing everyone to stop in their tracks, turning to the source of the sound. A loud thud followed when Stiles hit the floor. Derek didn't even know when he got up, but he was by the boy's side in a matter of seconds. He didn't even hear Jackson and his friends' laughter, too focused on the person in front of him. Their coach was right behind him, ordering everyone away.

Stiles groaned as he opened his eyes, holding his palm over his face. "Stilinski? You okay?" their coach asked.

Stiles didn't say anything, too caught up in the pain.

Derek kneeled down next to him, gently grabbing him by the shoulder. "We need to get you to the nurse's office," he instructed calmly. The brunette simply nodded slowly, letting Derek help him stand up.

He helped Stiles walk there, the boy obviously disoriented. When they arrived at the office Derek explained to the nurse what happened. She ordered Stiles to lay down on the table.

"Stiles? Can you follow the light?" she asked as she pulled out a light pen.

Derek let her do her tests, nervously waiting on the chair in the corner of the room. He was mad at himself for not seeing the ball come sooner. He should have seen it coming and warned Stiles. He should have done something.

A while later the nurse came over to Derek. "It looks like he has a minor concussion, some swelling. Nothing serious, basically. I'm still ordering bed rest, though, for the rest of the week."

The nurse wanted to call Stiles' father to come pick him up, but the boy insisted that he was fine to drive himself home. The nurse disagreed, insisting on calling. "No!" Stiles moaned, a mix of pain and annoyance. "He's too busy, he doesn't have time. Listen, I'm fine, I promise."

"Stiles, you just suffered a minor concussion, I'm not letting you sit into a car and drive yourself halfway across town. You shouldn't even be standing up."

"I'll drive him," Derek said, earning the attention of the two.

"Don't you have classes?" the nurse asked.

"Well, I'm at the top of all my classes, all the teachers love me, and my mom is friends with the principal. Also my friend here is injured and needs a ride home. I think I can afford to miss a few classes once."

The woman looked surprised, but pleased with the answer. "Alright, be my guest then."

Derek helped Stiles walk to his car, hovering a few inches next to him, making sure the boy wouldn't trip over himself or something. They eventually made it to Derek's car; a black Camaro that he bought himself. Well, his mom did, but they had a deal that Derek had to keep his good grades up, and that he would pay her back once he had a nice job.

"Nice car," Stiles snorted, groaning in pain afterwards.

Derek just smirked, slightly amused by the other boy's pain. He wondered, if that made him a terrible person. He eventually decided that it didn't.

Halfway through the ride Derek realized he had no idea where Stiles lived. He was basically driving blindly through town at that point. "So, where's your house exactly?"

Stiles half opened his left eye to look where they were. "Um, take a left turn in the next cross section and then keep going straight. You'll eventually see a light green house with an array of lawn ornaments. The blue house next to it is mine."

Derek nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. He slowed down a bit so he wouldn't miss the house, which he didn't. He drove up the driveway and stopped the car. "I'll walk with you" he said, looking at Stiles.

"Uh, no thanks, I'll be fine," the teen responded, opening the door. He made one step when he lost balance and grabbed the car door.

Derek immediately made his way over, putting his arm around the other boy. Normally he would not be doing this, but he didn't Stiles to trip over air. "Come on, I'll walk with you."

Stiles sighed but didn't say anything, letting Derek lead him into the house. It was very quiet inside with nobody home. Stiles' dad was at work until 4. They could practically hear each other's breathing.

"My, um, room is upstairs.."

Derek didn't say anything, just helped him up the stairs. He was acting like the boy would break into a million pieces any second, which Stiles was slightly enjoying, minus the headache.

They walked into Stiles' room, the brunette immediately throwing himself on his bed, moaning in response. "I missed you," he said to the object as if it were a person.

"I'm gonna go now," Derek said, already walking to the door.

"Wait." He stopped the second Stiles spoke up.

"Do you, uh, wanna stay over?" the smaller boy asked hopefully.

"Sure," Derek responded without even thinking.

Stiles smiled weakly. "Do you wanna watch a movie or something on my laptop?"

"I thought you had a headache," Derek folded his arms.

"I got hit by a ball in gym class, not a truck," the other boy responded, rolling his eyes.

Derek mumbled something and agreed to the movie.

"Can you get me my laptop?" Stiles asked, pointing to his desk.

The Hale boy did just so, handing Stiles his laptop. "Sit down."

He sat on the empty spot on the bed, which wasn't that big so he was dangerously close to Stiles. Derek could feel the heat from the other boy's body. It was a very good feeling, he had to mentally remind himself not to sink himself into the boy.

Stiles went over his list of movies on his computer, asking Derek what he was into. He told him he was fine with whatever, so Stiles put on some random romantic comedy,

He had no idea why he asked Derek to stay, or why he was watching a movie with him in his bed. He'd never have the balls to do it, but in that moment he really didn't care about any consequences, he just wanted to be next to Derek.

Being next to the dark haired boy felt... relaxing, once he stopped freaking out about his crush. Derek emitted a warm aura, something Stiles could get used to. It was so calming and safe. 15 minutes into the movie he realized he had no idea what even happened, too focused on the presence next to him. He closed his eyes just for a second, taking in the warmness next to him.

Derek's body stiffened when he felt something touch his forearm. He looked at Stiles with the corner of his eye, realizing the boy had fallen asleep next to him.

This is not happening, Derek thought. Staying over at Stiles' place was already a bad idea, but now this? Pure hell.

He didn't move, though, too afraid he'd wake the boy up. So he sighed and tried to relax a bit, looking around the room. It was only then that he realized that Stiles had a lot of photographs hanging on his walls. They were of various locations around town, looking very artistic. He figured Stiles had to be into photography. Thinking about it, he really didn't know a lot about Stiles, if anything. He knew he was at chemistry, that his dad was the Sheriff, and that he a tendency to trip over air. There were some more personal pictures on his drawer. Derek couldn't see them perfectly from that afar, but it appeared to have been a young Stiles with his parents. That made think of the boy's mother. He couldn't remember seeing the woman in the pictures anywhere around town. He wondered what the story behind that was.

Halfway through the movie Derek could feel himself getting tired. Sitting in the same position for the past half hour, next to the boy of his dreams, was rather exhausting. So he closed his eyes for a bit, just a few seconds to regain some energy. Then he would gently creep out of the bed and go home. Maybe he'd leave a note for Stiles.

* * *

Noah Stilinski was an understanding man. He understood why people committed crimes. He understood why the sun rose every morning. He understood why his son wanted him to eat healthy.

What he didn't understand, though, was why that son was sleeping with a boy in his bed. That was something he wasn't expecting to find when he came home from a rough day at work. He just stood there for what seemed a minute, not sure what to do.

Does he wake up the boys? Noah really wanted to hear the reasoning behind it.

But instead he went downstairs and poured himself a glass of scotch, nesting into the living room in the front of the television.

Sitting there alone in the living room gave him time to think about what he saw. He wasn't sure what bothered him more; the fact that Stiles was in bed with a _boy_ , or that he never told him that he had a... uh... boyfrie... Noah couldn't even finish that thought.

* * *

Stiles' eyes woke up with strain, not ready to wake up yet. He was so comfortable there in his bed. It was so warm and firm, and-wait, that wasn't a bed. Turning his head up he realized he'd been laying on top of Derek's chest, the other boy fast asleep.

"Ah!" he screamed, flailing.

Derek jumped out of sleep, so shook up that he actually fell off the bed and onto the floor. He groaned in pain from hitting his tailbone.

"Wh-What happened?" Stiles asked, still freaked out.

Derek didn't look at the boy, too focused on the carpet. "You... Fell asleep... Guess I did too."

"So we slept together... on my bed..."

"Yup," Derek responded, popping the 'p'. "I'm gonna go now. Bye."

Derek was out the door before Stiles could even say anything. On second thought, maybe that was better, he thought.

He started panicking when he heard voices downstairs. His dad's in particular. Stiles quickly made his way downstairs, finding his dad and Derek by the front door, the Sheriff interrogating the young boy.

"And how do you know my son?" Noah asked, his arms crossed.

"We got assigned on a school project together," Derek answered, with no signs of stress or any emotion for that matter.

"Is taking naps together part of that?"

"Dad!" Stiles interrupted. "What are you doing? Let him go."

Noah looked at his son, raising his eyebrows when he noticed the darkness around his right eye, and the minor swelling. "What happened to your face?" he asked.

"Nothing," Stiles responded, slightly turning his face away. "I'll see you later, Derek."

The Hale boy nodded and made his out the door, leaving the Stilinki men to themselves.

Stiles was ready to go back to his room, but his father had other plans. "Mind explaining to me why you look like someone's punching bag? And why on Earth were you sleeping with that boy next to you?"

Stiles chewed on his lip for a bit, trying to come up with a reasonable answer. It didn't really result in anything, leaving the two men in silence. Noah obviously wasn't going to drop it, no matter how much his son glared at him. "Did he hurt you?"

"No!" the young boy immediately responded. "No, dad, Derek didn't hurt me..."

"Then what happened?" Noah persisted. Realizing he wasn't getting anywhere he softened his tone. "Stiles, it's me, dad. You know you can tell me anything."

Stiles sighed, giving in, looking his father directly in the eyes. "Fine... I got hurt in gym class... I didn't see the stupid ball coming my way, and it hit me right in the face. I sort-of passed out for a bit and Derek drove me back here cause I knew you were busy. I asked him to stay, to watch a movie cause I didn't want to be alone, he said yes, and I maybe, accidentally, fell asleep next to him. Oh, he did too, I guess..."

When his father didn't answer, Stiles began panicking. "D-Dad? Say something."

The Sheriff didn't say anything, though. He did that thing with his brows when he was deep in thought.

"Dad. Dad!"

Noah finally sighed, showing some sort-of response. "Stiles, you gotta be more careful," he said, trying to get a better look at his son's face.

"I'm fine," the boy groaned, swatting his dad's hands away.

"I thought somebody hurt you on purpose."

Stiles gulped. Technically somebody did hurt him on purpose; Jackson. He didn't see it, but he heard the boy and his friends snicker when he was laying on the ground.

"Nope," the boy answered. "Just an accident."

The Sheriff looked a bit more relieved now. "Good. Cause you know as the Sheriff I'm perfectly capable of disposing a body, right?"

" _Dad_!"

* * *

 **A/N** : Kind-of a short chapter, but I wanted to get it out there. Like I said, I'll be slowly introducing more characters. I also wanted to say that I really appreciate all of your comments, and I do mean all of them! They really brighten up my day, and make me happy and excited when working on the next chapter. So, please don't forget to leave your thoughts if you've read this, I'm open to all sorts of comments! :)


	5. Spontaneous Combustions

When Derek came back home from school he immediately ran up to his room and threw himself on the bed, drained physically and emotionally. His bed was much nicer than Stiles', he had to admit. It was firm but soft, just how he liked it.

Thinking about yesterday made Derek angry, because he didn't know what to do with his feelings for Stiles. He fell asleep next to him. Derek knew he shouldn't have stayed, but it was like he had no control over his brain when around the boy. The more time he spent thinking about it the more he wanted to punch something. What was he supposed to do? Go on until the rest of high school, ignoring his feelings and pretending Stiles didn't exist? Maybe, but they shared classes, and it was hard to not look at the boy. Sure, he was skinny and gangly, and he would ramble about the most random things at times, but Derek secretly enjoyed it. He didn't know why, just that he did.

Eventually Derek decided to take a nice, warm shower. He locked the bathroom door, discarding his clothing, looking at himself in the mirror before entering the shower. He glared at his reflection, unhappy with it.

The warm water started falling on his body, sending waves of pleasure through his nerves.

Derek started thinking about Stiles. About how they basically slept together in his bed, extremely near each other. He remembered the boy's scent; a mixture of vanilla, and some earthy smells. The way the boy's mouth would hang just a bit open when he slept. The way his long lashes fanned out, his features soft yet sharp. All that thinking brought some attention to his lower body parts.

Derek groaned as he grabbed his member by the base, slowly gliding his hand up, letting out a stifled moan. He began thinking of Stiles' beautiful pink lips, and what they could be capable of. He thought of laying in the boy's bed, pinning him down, kissing and licking his neck and collarbones, marking him all over so that everyone knew who he belonged to. Derek thought about ripping Stiles' shirt off, sliding his hands all over that beautiful cream-colored body. He would make sure to not leave any corner of the boy's body untouched and unexplored, make a mental map of every mole and every freckle. Derek thought of all the ways he could make Stiles moan and whine. He would play with his nipples, sucking and licking them, sending the other boy into a whirlwind of lust and want. Then he'd slowly trail his tongue down Stiles' stomach, along his happy trail-he made note of it in gym class. Derek would then grip the boy's member, and bring it to his mouth, making slow circles with his tongue all over its head, Stiles begging him to take him. And eventually he would, savoring the brunette's taste.

That sent Derek over the edge. He panted, letting out a strained moan as he came in strong strands of cum, leaning back on the shower wall to support himself, his legs shaking from the release. He closed his eyes when the flow stopped, letting the water wash away all of the remains. His happy bliss was soon replaced with shame and discomfort. He hated feeling like that after a jerk-off. It ruined the whole moment. Why couldn't his stupid teenage hormones just calm down for like 5 minutes?

Walking back into his room Derek was stopped by Laura, looking even more smug than she usually does.

"What did you do?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"What?" his sister replied. "I'm hurt that you would think I always have some ulterior motive."

Derek glared at Laura, not in the mood for games.

"Okay, fine," the girl said, throwing her hands up. "I texted Stiles from your phone."

"You did WHAT?!"

"I told him to come over and work on your project thingy."

Her brother looked like he was about to bust a vein, but didn't say anything. Derek simply walked into his room and slammed the door after him.

A second later it opened again. "When is he coming?" he quietly asked.

"In an hour, Romeo," Laura replied, snickering.

Derek just slammed the door again.

Stiles was sitting behind his desk, his attention on the computer screen. He was looking at the pictures he had taken a while back, but never got the chance to properly inspect. He had driven up to a small lake near the town, the view perfect for some artistic photographs. Unfortunately, they weren't the best looking, as his camera was a bit old already and couldn't compare to the newer models with advanced features. Stiles was still proud of them, though-they were his creations and he spent quite a bit of time getting the angles just right, even if the end results were a bit pixelated.

Suddenly his phone buzzed twice, startling the boy a bit. Stiles looked at the screen. It was a text message from Derek. What could he want?

Stiles starred at the notification for a bit, before finally deciding to open it.

 **Derek Hale:** Can you come over in an hour? want to work on the project

Stiles froze for a second. He was feeling a mixture of excitement and dread. It had been 2 days since he last heard from the boy, which was the day they had their 'accidental nap'.

Don't sound desperate, Stiles thought as he began writing a reply.

 **Stiles Stilinski** : sure do u want me to bring my books too?

 **Derek Hale:** Yeah. Just ring the doorbell when u're here

Stiles closed his laptop and ran into the bathroom; he was in need of a shower. Perhaps a even cold one.

40 minutes later the brunette was going through his closet, desperately trying to find articles of clothing that were presentable in public. He went through dozens of clothes, none of them appealing to him. He went through his shirts, hoodies, tees, everything.

Why do I not own any nice shirts?! Stiles thought in annoyance.

Realizing that most of his clothes were in the washing machine the boy groaned and sat down on the floor. Then he got an idea. He ran up to his backpack and pulled out a backup shirt he took with him just in case Jackson was feeling like throwing slushies at him. Looking back into the backpack Stiles realized he still had Derek's hoodie in there; the one Derek gave him that time under the bleachers. Looking at it Stiles began thinking that he should probably return it, seeing as he had plenty of his own. But it felt so nice to have it. It smelled like Derek, even though the scent was starting to wash away. No, Stiles decided it was time to return it. He wasn't going to be the weirdo that steals hoodies.

Eventually he dressed himself and gave it a final look in the mirror, thinking it would do. Looking at his hair Stiles groaned and reached for a beanie, covering his mess of a hairdo.

The drive to Derek's went smoothly, Stiles already familiar with the route. He parked in front of the Hale residence, half expecting Laura to greet him again, but this time it was Derek that came out of the front entrance. He was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans that made Stiles' blood rush to places best left unsaid. Fixing his jeans, the brunette stepped out of his car and made his way over to Derek. "Hey."

"Hi," Derek replied, looking a bit nervous. "Come on in."

The last time Stiles entered the Hale house it was filled with chatter and various sounds, but this time it was silent. The TV in the living room wasn't on, there was no sound from the kitchen, or upstairs. "Are-Are you alone?" Stiles asked.

"Uh, yeah." Stiles could have sworn Derek's pitch jumped up a bit when he answered.

"Cool," the brunette responded, trying to sound unfazed. Why was Derek inviting him over when he was alone? Was he going to kill Stiles? He knew the Hales owned a massive amount of land around here, the cops would take forever to find his body.

"You remember where my room is, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

Derek started walking to the kitchen. "I'm, uh, just gonna grab some snacks and be right there. Go ahead, though."

"Uhh, okay," Stiles responded and made his way upstairs. He made sure that it was the right room before entering it. He really didn't feel like accidentally walking into one of Derek's sister's rooms. Setting his backpack by the bed Stiles took the chance to look at Derek's photographs that were scattered all across his room. Call him a creep but he enjoyed looking at photographs, the memories they embodied.

Downstairs Derek was in the kitchen pacing around in circles, gripping onto his phone like his life depended on it. Without giving it another thought he dialed Laura's number and waited for her to pick up.

"How's it going, Casanova?" Laura answered with a snort.

"Shut UP! This was the worst idea you ever had! I can't believe you talked me into it!" Derek was panicking, biting his nails.

"Take a deep breath, and calm down. First of all, I didn't talk you into it, cause you would have said no, I just set it up. Second, it is a great idea, and you know it. What happened?"

"He came like 5 minutes ago. I sent him up to my room, and now I'm in in the kitchen making snacks. Oh God, I'm turning into mom."

Laura sighed. "Get the dumb bag of chips, and go upstairs and woo him!"

"Woo him? Really, Laura? This isn't a rom-com."

"Stop freaking out and go upstairs. Do your stupid project, and talk to him. Get to know him. See what he's into. You can do it, dweeb."

Taking a deep breath Derek seemed to relax a bit. "Alright, I can do this. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Oh, and I put condoms in your nightstand just in case."

 ***beep***

Looking at the various framed photos Stiles had to smile. Derek was an incredibly sweet looking child. It was also apparently the last time he smiled, cause Stiles didn't really remember ever seeing the boy actually smile or laugh.

Stiles was interrupted by the door opening, Derek walking in empty handed.

"What happened to the snacks?" Stiles asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh," the Hale boy replied. "I forgot."

Stiles laughed. "Wasn't that the whole point of you going into the kitchen?"

Derek blushed, remembering the conversation he had with Laura. "I'll get them later. We should work on the project now," he said, making his was over to his bed, looking at his nightstand to make sure it was closed. Phew.

When Derek sat down a rustling sound was heard, sparking the interest of the two boys. Standing up and lifting his duvet Derek found a pack of XXL condoms laying there. He just starred at them for a while, then looked at Stiles with a lack of words.

"XXL, huh," was all the brunette said.

Mortified, Derek quickly snatched the pack, opened his nightstand and threw them inside. He was pretty sure that later that day Cora would end up being his only sibling.

"Hey, uh, no judging," Stiles added.

"They're not mine!" Derek said defensively. "I mean, they are, but they're not. I didn't put them there! I'm not trying to have sex with you!" He knew he was rambling, something he didn't usually do, but it was like Derek had no control over his mouth.

Stiles was trying his best not to confess his undying love for the boy. "I, uh, didn't think you wanted to, dude. It's okay," he tried reassuring Derek.

"It was Laura! She put them there because for some reason she thinks I have a crush on you, which is stupid cause I don't!"

Scratch the confessing part. Stiles didn't say anything after Derek was done rambling. He just starred at the other boy for a while, not sure what to say.

This was it. This was his chance. Stiles could finally tell Derek how he really felt, since all those years ago. It was his chance to come clean and put everything out in the open, get every single nerve-wrecking thought off his chest, or he could keep his mouth closed and just laugh it off

"What if... What if I had a crush on you?" he weakly asked, looking Derek straight in the eyes.

Derek's eyes widened. "Wh-What?"

"What if I had a crush on you?" Stiles asked again, this time with more confidence. "Would... Would that be weird?"

If Stiles thought this was funny he was incredibly wrong. How dare he make a joke of such a thing? He had no idea how Derek felt; what he felt. He spent countless nights awake with only the other boy on his mind. Every time he saw him walk around school his breath would hitch a bit, his pulse starting to race. How much psyching himself up it took Derek to sit down next to him under the bleachers. Stiles had no idea what it felt like to only be able to look at someone from a distance, someone that made your lips dry, your palms sweaty.

"That's not funny, Stiles," Derek replied with a stern voice.

"Wasn't supposed to be." Stiles took in a deep breath and exhaled. "I... Uh... Like you, Derek. Like, a lot."

The Hale boy tried asking what he was talking, but Stiles wouldn't let him. "Do you remember in 3rd grade when I fell and hurt my knee? You were the only person that came to help me. I moved to town earlier that year, I didn't have any friends. But you were there. You helped me up, and even walked with me to the nurse's office, Stiles said, chuckling at the memory. Derek vividly remembered that day. He also remembered when Stiles joined his class earlier that year, and how he was always alone, much like Derek himself.

"I, uh... Remember, yeah..."

"Do you also remember what you told me after that?" Stiles asked.

Derek mentally kicked himself for not remembering.

"You told me that I should be more careful, cause you didn't want me to get hurt." Stiles smiled at the memory.

"Oh... I forgot about that...," Derek confessed. He was genuinely surprised that he forgot that part.

Stiles took another breath and decided to continue. "Anyway... I've been careful ever since then, not to get hurt, but I can't do it anymore... I have to tell you how I feel, even if flat out reject me and laugh in my face or kick me out of your house and never speak to me... I might get hurt, but... I think it would be worth it. I like you, Derek Hale. I've liked you ever since that say in 3rd grade. I like the way your hair stays up without seemingly any hair products. I like the way your ears stick out a bit. I like the way your bunny teeth show when you smile, which to be honest you should do more, or your crazy eyebrows that you somehow make work. I like the way you always know the right answers in class, and how you're never nervous during tests. God... There's just... So much I like about you Derek, and... I never had the courage to tell you cause why would you care about me, right?" Stiles said with a snort. "I'm the skinny dork with no friends... But... I couldn't keep it in me any longer... So, I apologize if you think I'm a weirdo or whatever but-"

Stiles' words were cut off when Derek stepped up to him, grabbed him by his head and smacked his lips against Stiles'. The kiss wasn't anything special. There wasn't any tongue action, just two people sharing an intimate moment. Stiles could feel Derek's entire body shaking.

Eventually Derek broke the kiss, his eyes wide, lips plump and pinkish. "I, uh," the dark haired boy started, "like you, too, Stiles."

Stiles' eyes widened in disbelief. "Please tell me I'm not dreaming."

Derek smiled weakly and connected their mouths again, this time gently bitting down on Stiles' lower lip, earning a muffled 'ow' from the boy. "Not dreaming," he said when Derek backed off.

Derek took a step back, looking at the floor. "I'd give a speech of my own, but you pretty much took all the words out of my mouth. I've liked since that day, too. I just, uh, had no idea there was a chance for you to feel this way... I always just assumed you were straight."

Stiles chuckled nervously. "Yeah, same."

Derek smiled at him. "Guess we're both pretty dense, huh?"

Not long after their confessions Stiles said he had to go, as he had some stuff to do for when his dad came back from work. Derek looked a bit disappointed but didn't say anything. He accompanied the other boy to the front door, like last time.

Stiles has the front door halfway open when he turned out. "Wait, are we, uh, dating now?" he asked.

Derek's cheeks heated up. "Uh... Do you... Do you want us to date?"

The Stilinski boy rolled his eyes. "I poured my entire heart out to you in your bedroom, what do you think?"

Derek chuckled and stepped closed, planting a short kiss on Stiles' cheek. "Then yes, we're dating."

The two boys jumped apart when they heard a wolf whistle behind them. "Get a room you two!" Laura said in a mocking tone.

"Laura!" Talia, who was holding some shopping bags behind her daughter, scolded.

"Mom!" Derek suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

"Hello, sweetheart. And Stiles, nice to see you again. Are you staying for dinner?" the woman asked, smiling sweetly.

"Hi, uh, Mrs. Hale," Stiles greeted in a scattered manner, "no, uh, thanks but I was just, uh leaving. Okay, bye!" he added and quickly ducked away to his jeep.

Derek smacked his face with his palm when he walked back into the house.

"So, I guess the project's going well?" Talia asked teasingly as she followed her son into their home, a snickering Laura right behind her.

So I wrote half of this chapter on my iphone cause my laptop decided that dying was its New Year resolution so I hope it still all makes sense. Unfortunately this will probably slow me down a bit, as I have no idea when it'll be fixed. I'm still looking for any beta-readers or people who want to collab on future projects, so if you are interested or know anybody who might be please feel free to PM me!

Anyway, I hope you guys had wonderful holidays and enjoy the chapter! Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the reviews! :)


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